Making New Year's resolutions can be easy. The hard part is sticking with a long-term plan to see these goals realized. Dr. Kimberly Dennis treats women struggling with a range of disorders such as drug and substance abuse. She believes many people, including those suffering from substance abuse, see the new year as "a chance for renewal" and "is an opportunity to embrace change and use the season of new beginnings as a way to ignite our good intentions by developing resolutions to guide us on a journey to new places."

Dennis' advice is lot easier said than done, but she's completely right. The New Year is often seen as a chance to fix problems and make positive changes. Unfortunately, many of these goals are never realized. For those suffering from substance abuse, this can mean major setbacks on their road to recovery.

To ensure healing stays on track, substance abusers must create long-term recovery plans with professionals and stick with it. This plan often involves setting multiple goals they can achieve over time. Goals start small and often become more challenging as the year progresses and as sufferers indicate they can handle more stressful situations.

Along with creating and sticking with a plan, multiple visits are needed to record progress and measure the victim's health. Many times people become excited about their New Year's resolutions earlier in the year and are committed to accomplishing their goals. However, as the year drags on, they become less interested. This cannot happen to people suffering from substance abuse. They must work with professionals who can keep them focused on accomplishing their goals so by year's end they are in a better and healthier place than where they were when they year began.

For those dealing with substance abuse, consider Fairwinds Treatment Center. Dr. M.K. (Khal) El-Yousef, specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of substance abuse by using a Dual Diagnosis approach. In using this tactic, Dr. El-Yousef and his staff of full-time psychiatrists, nursing professionals and licensed therapists work to first diagnosis the underlying reason behind a person's disorder. Upon understanding the cause, they can then treat the condition and its symptoms.